The young people of Mbombela have complained about the lack of job and education opportunities in the province.
Some of those that Independent Media spoke to said they are desperately in need of jobs to provide for their families and are forced to travel on foot in search of jobs.
Five young women who were turned away from Mbombela Stadium companies for their plight said they were told that they must go to town in order to be eligible for event marshal jobs.
“We are from Mbombela Stadium, where we were told that there are about 60 job opportunities. I hope that we will arrive in time to consider these jobs,” one of the females said.
Another one said she lost out on a job due to the fact that she was married.
“I am 32 and married, and yet I was denied a job because I am married. What kind of government does that to its young people? We are desperate for jobs in order to provide for our children, yet we are told that because we are married, we do not deserve to have jobs,” she said.
One of the young people in eNtokozweni, an informal settlement in Mpumalanga Nompumelelo Nkosi detailed some of their struggles.
“I survive by getting part-time jobs. I have not had a proper job for years. We have a problem with water. We don't get water. Even our roads are not up to standard. It's difficult to walk around, and it's also difficult for cars to move around. When you have burials, it's difficult to walk around. We are urging that the president assist us with water, roads, and employment. We are poor, and it's hard to survive without jobs.”
With others distressed about their fate in university enrolment, NSFAS has been under fire for allegations of corruption after recordings were leaked.
It is explained that recordings revealed how service providers allegedly paid millions of rands in kickbacks to Higher Education, Nzimande, and Khosa, as well as at least R1 million to the South African Communist Party (SACP).
According to the organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa): This was done in exchange for service provider protection and bids.
The organisation also revealed that they also discussed the criminal charges against Khosa while he was the CEO of the Mpumalanga Economic Empowerment Commission (now known as the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency), previous meetings they had with him and the minister, and how Khosa allegedly openly talked about a bribe of R6 million in the presence of another NSFAS board member and former president of SASCO, Bamanye Matiwane.
The controversy resulted in Khosa taking a leave of absence.
In a statement, Khosa argued that this is not an admission of guilt but rather a responsible move to enhance good corporate governance.
Speaking about the recordings, Nzimande also clarified that the voice was not his own.
“I have no fear whatsoever about my own integrity. But what I take exception to ... is that people just come out with allegations. It's not my voice that's there. If you think that is my voice, they are wrong,” he said.
The Star